Children’s Asylum Centre ‘too welcoming’ 😢

He is a good guy.

It really is Jaffa

That's exactly it Jaffa.

From children's author Michael Rosen in response to painting over the children's cartoons. Replaced words to Stop all the Clocks.
Paint over Mickey Mouse
Burn Where the Wild Things Are
Pulverise the lego
Set fire to the Christmas tree star

Seize all the teddies
Bury every skipping rope
Paint the walls dark brown
Abolish all hope

Primrose53

Glorianny

Primrose53

So a little bit more info came out today and it seems painting over the mural could just have been part of the general redecoration.

Ex Border Force Chief Immigration Officer was on radio show at lunchtime. He said such places are decorated regularly to make them nicer places to stay and he outlined a short stay centre at Dunkirk. They had it painted throughout with the walls in soft colours, the floors were done, new toilets installed at great expense.

He said it looked lovely and then it didn’t after a couple of days. He was asked what that meant and he said the migrants defaced all the walls by drawing and writing on them and generally messing the place up.

So it could well have been general redecoration or it could have been because it had been spoiled anyway.

Always two sides to a story.

OMG blame the migrants again!
This is a children's centre.
The short term detention centres in Dunkirk have been criticised www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons/media/press-releases/2020/03/uk-border-short-term-immigration-detention-at-french-ports-improved-facilities-but-some-serious-concerns/
He isn't going to tell you that is he? He was running them.

If a BF Chief Immigration Officer said that then I believe him. He did not say it like you are making out “blame the migrants” but he had to be asked why it was still not lovely after 48 hours and then he gave the reason.

The link you provided doesn’t even mention Dunkirk.

The latest inspection report I can find is 2019 and Section 4 deals with Dunkirk and says that “detainees are treated with respect by all staff.” And “detainees are held in a safe, clean and decent environment.”

If you see the boats full of people arriving I am sure you will have seen BF staff treating them kindly and, on the very rare occasions we see a baby or small child they are usually cradling them gently.

I sold my late Mum’s house to a BF official and he was awarded an MBE for his work with the migrants. So I really don’t like your last sentence. I believe BF do a very good job in very difficult circumstances.

Quote from the report I used
The Dunkerque facility holds tourist and commercial travellers stopped at the border and about 160 detainees a month were held there
For anyone who doesn't understand this is the French for Dunkirk.
I'm sure there are caring and helpful workers in BF, that's slightly different to believing all that important officials in the organisation say.

Yes as my post before, which Freya interpreted as a criticism of staff, was trying to highlight, the story seems a little shaky. However overwhelmed the staff might be, I am sure that they would have been able to notice(?) and deal with any attempts to deface the walls . I am defending their professionalism and asking again if this account is accurate in every detail.

Primrose53 I think that's unlikely!

Logically if it's spoiled in 24 hours the painting must have been done the morning of the inspection!

NotSpaghetti

And...Can someone explain how the report quoted above (re Dunkirk) states the ^ “detainees are held in a safe, clean and decent environment.”^ when actually (according to the Chief Immigration Officer mentioned above) the walls are covered in graffiti?

Presumably because they were repainted again after they were spoiled. Obviously they couldn’t leave them like that!

I am sure if the walls were covered in graffiti this would have been mentioned in the inspection report.

The BF guy did say that they make great efforts to make these places look nice. It’s just a shame that some people feel they want to spoil it. They only spoil it for people like themselves.

And...Can someone explain how the report quoted above (re Dunkirk) states the ^ “detainees are held in a safe, clean and decent environment.”^ when actually (according to the Chief Immigration Officer mentioned above) the walls are covered in graffiti?

Chocolatelovinggran

Can someone explain - these places are staffed, aren't they? How did the staff allow defacement of walls? I worked in an establishment belonging to the state ( a school) and would not have permitted this. Ours was a day school but the LA supports residential schools in the area and it doesn't happen there either.

Perhaps they are overworked, underpaid and trying to deal with the anomalies of hundreds of children, walk a mile in their shoes.

Can someone explain - these places are staffed, aren't they? How did the staff allow defacement of walls? I worked in an establishment belonging to the state ( a school) and would not have permitted this. Ours was a day school but the LA supports residential schools in the area and it doesn't happen there either.

joycerousselot123

Callistemon21

I don't think children painted it, was it the staff who were doing their best to welcome traumatised children?

I understand that the paintings were done by volunteers. For all those who think the Minister was justified - he didn't say it was a public therefore verboten to volunteer artists, he didn't say they used tax payers paint, he didn't say Mickey Mouse was toxic, he said he didn't want the place to be too welcoming. These kids (be it 5 or 17) probably don't know one word of English except 'HELP' and jolly Micky could have been the beginning of a new life. New language, new food, new everything but all alone with no family. Many have PTSD and need urgent therapy but that can't happen till they know quite a lot of English. There's a lack of warmth and compassion in this thread not unlike that of Robert Jenrick - God help his 3 girls at school !

There seem to be few on this thread who think his action was justified and anything less than spiteful.

Glorianny

Primrose53

So a little bit more info came out today and it seems painting over the mural could just have been part of the general redecoration.

Ex Border Force Chief Immigration Officer was on radio show at lunchtime. He said such places are decorated regularly to make them nicer places to stay and he outlined a short stay centre at Dunkirk. They had it painted throughout with the walls in soft colours, the floors were done, new toilets installed at great expense.

He said it looked lovely and then it didn’t after a couple of days. He was asked what that meant and he said the migrants defaced all the walls by drawing and writing on them and generally messing the place up.

So it could well have been general redecoration or it could have been because it had been spoiled anyway.

Always two sides to a story.

OMG blame the migrants again!
This is a children's centre.
The short term detention centres in Dunkirk have been criticised www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons/media/press-releases/2020/03/uk-border-short-term-immigration-detention-at-french-ports-improved-facilities-but-some-serious-concerns/
He isn't going to tell you that is he? He was running them.

If a BF Chief Immigration Officer said that then I believe him. He did not say it like you are making out “blame the migrants” but he had to be asked why it was still not lovely after 48 hours and then he gave the reason.

The link you provided doesn’t even mention Dunkirk.

The latest inspection report I can find is 2019 and Section 4 deals with Dunkirk and says that “detainees are treated with respect by all staff.” And “detainees are held in a safe, clean and decent environment.”

If you see the boats full of people arriving I am sure you will have seen BF staff treating them kindly and, on the very rare occasions we see a baby or small child they are usually cradling them gently.

I sold my late Mum’s house to a BF official and he was awarded an MBE for his work with the migrants. So I really don’t like your last sentence. I believe BF do a very good job in very difficult circumstances.

Callistemon21

I don't think children painted it, was it the staff who were doing their best to welcome traumatised children?

I understand that the paintings were done by volunteers. For all those who think the Minister was justified - he didn't say it was a public therefore verboten to volunteer artists, he didn't say they used tax payers paint, he didn't say Mickey Mouse was toxic, he said he didn't want the place to be too welcoming. These kids (be it 5 or 17) probably don't know one word of English except 'HELP' and jolly Micky could have been the beginning of a new life. New language, new food, new everything but all alone with no family. Many have PTSD and need urgent therapy but that can't happen till they know quite a lot of English. There's a lack of warmth and compassion in this thread not unlike that of Robert Jenrick - God help his 3 girls at school !

Primrose53

So a little bit more info came out today and it seems painting over the mural could just have been part of the general redecoration.

Ex Border Force Chief Immigration Officer was on radio show at lunchtime. He said such places are decorated regularly to make them nicer places to stay and he outlined a short stay centre at Dunkirk. They had it painted throughout with the walls in soft colours, the floors were done, new toilets installed at great expense.

He said it looked lovely and then it didn’t after a couple of days. He was asked what that meant and he said the migrants defaced all the walls by drawing and writing on them and generally messing the place up.

So it could well have been general redecoration or it could have been because it had been spoiled anyway.

Always two sides to a story.

OMG blame the migrants again!
This is a children's centre.
The short term detention centres in Dunkirk have been criticised www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons/media/press-releases/2020/03/uk-border-short-term-immigration-detention-at-french-ports-improved-facilities-but-some-serious-concerns/
He isn't going to tell you that is he? He was running them.

So a little bit more info came out today and it seems painting over the mural could just have been part of the general redecoration.

Ex Border Force Chief Immigration Officer was on radio show at lunchtime. He said such places are decorated regularly to make them nicer places to stay and he outlined a short stay centre at Dunkirk. They had it painted throughout with the walls in soft colours, the floors were done, new toilets installed at great expense.

He said it looked lovely and then it didn’t after a couple of days. He was asked what that meant and he said the migrants defaced all the walls by drawing and writing on them and generally messing the place up.

So it could well have been general redecoration or it could have been because it had been spoiled anyway.

Always two sides to a story.

Casdon

maddyone

I might be wrong but I think the children, who are mostly teenagers, only stay in these reception centres for a short time as I think they are usually moved to foster homes as soon as possible.

www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2021/12/Kent-detention-facilities-web-2021.pdf
Most recent published report.

Thank you for posting this Casdon. I do hope everybody who thinks that asylum seekers are rushed into 4 star hotels, and that unaccompanied children are treated humanely, reads it.
It is grim reading.

I don't think children painted it, was it the staff who were doing their best to welcome traumatised children?

There is already so much hostility on the subject of migrants, yet this government are doing their best to fuel even more. I feel for the children who painted the mural...they must be so upset. What an insensitive thing to do.

Well Glorianny, I have discovered that I am the "right kind of foreigner". I was reassured during the referendum that "we don't mind
people like you."
I am Scandinavian.

You're right there Glorianny.

It is amazing how many people welcomed Ukrainian families but are up in arms about children from Syria or Afghanistan. You might almost think race plays a part in our attitude towards asylum seekers, but that couldn't possibly be true, could it?

FannyCornforth

Glorianny no, we definitely didn’t have a PTA.
It was very difficult to ‘engage’ the parents, shall we say.
It was hard enough getting a couple of parent governors on board

One of the schools I worked in had similar problems they encouraged the parents to come into the school for other events. One of those was an invitation to eat lunch with your child, quite a lot of them came. The head was very good at interaction with the parents.

Glorianny no, we definitely didn’t have a PTA.
It was very difficult to ‘engage’ the parents, shall we say.
It was hard enough getting a couple of parent governors on board

ixion

^ixion you may be interested to know that the statistics gathered by the government are incomplete and need to apparently be cross-referenced with other data.
I do wish it was all in one place! I've now spent two hours trying to understand what info comes from where!^

Thank you NotSpaghetti
I started here
www.gov.uk/government/publications/illegal-migration-bill-factsheets/illegal-migration-bill-children-factsheet
but am rapidly disappearing down various rabbit holes!😡

I can't believe what I an reading in this Bill. It says the Secretary of State will have a duty 'to remove any person who enters the UK illegally and has not come directly from a country where their life and liberty was threatened. ' So does that mean they have to have flown from Kabul to Heathrow = what is directly ? It also keeps mentioning 'safe country of origin'. What the he... would these poor people be fleeing if it was safe?